Like something out of a science fiction movie, engineers designed miniature robots that quickly and reversibly change from liquid to solid, are also magnetic and electrically conductive.
If the above reminds you of the villain from the movie Terminator 2, we do not judge you, since indeed, as part of the studies and tests to develop these robots, the researchers created a tiny model in the shape of a person that goes through the bars of a cell changing state, as can be seen in a test video.
Carmel Majidi, lead author and a mechanical engineer at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, explained that to accomplish this, the team created a new phase change material called a “solid-liquid phase transition magnetoactive machine.” by embedding magnetic particles in gallium, a metal with a very low melting point.
He said this is in contrast to existing phase change materials, which rely on heat guns, electrical currents or other external heat sources to induce the transformation from solid to liquid.
“Magnetic particles have two functions; One is that they make the material respond to an alternating magnetic field, so you can, by induction, heat the material and cause the phase change, but magnetic particles also give robots mobility and the ability to move in response. to the magnetic field,” he explained.
For his part, Chengfeng Pan, an engineer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who led the study, said that while traditional robots are hard and rigid, soft ones have the opposite problem: they are flexible but weak, and their movements are difficult to control. However, they can be provided with more functionality.
“Giving robots the ability to switch between liquid and solid states gives them more functionality”
The creators subjected the robots to an obstacle course and mobility and shape-shifting tests, a property that surprises locals and strangers after seeing a video that is part of the study, which was published on January 25 in the magazine matter.
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In this way, the new material he used to create this robot also features an extremely fluid liquid phase compared to other phase change materials, whose “liquid” phases are considerably more viscous.
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